Cosplayer Spotlight – Wicked Redhead Cosplay

Word of the Nerd is pleased to present to you one of our most popular features, Cosplayer Spotlight. We feature new and talented cosplayers from the cosplay community. Be sure to check back every day to catch some up and coming new cosplay talent or get a look at some well established and already famous members from the world of cosplay.

About Wicked Redhead Cosplay

Hi! My name is WickedRedHead! (or Susie).
I’m 26 and I live in beautiful Colorado.
I work as a freelance artist and game developer.

Marceline the Vampire Queen. Photo by WeNeals Photography and Retouching.

How did you first get into cosplay?

I always loved dressing up but I had actually heard what it was from a student in 8th grade who was into anime (I was in 7th grade) and she introduced me to conventions (my first was NDK) and the like. 🙂 It was amazing and I never looked back!

Do you cosplay just for fun or do you see it as a stepping stone to a future career?

I do it for fun! I absolutely love to craft. I see it as an artistic challenge for myself as an artist. Why not develop every skill you can? I like making props the most.

Do you prefer to make your cosplays from scratch, buy or commission them or a hybrid?

I like to do it all haha! I’ve definitely bought some full cosplays when I just wanted to worry about the convention instead of making cosplays. It’s a big stress off. But making it is a fun challenge. You learn so much, so if you do something like it again, you learn from your mistakes. You can only get better.

How much time do you spend making each of your cosplays?

Recently not much. haha! Personal care does come first before cosplay. But usually, when I sit down and do a full one, it ranges from a full year to a couple months depending on how extreme it is.

What is your favorite cosplay you done so far?

My favorite one is Ryuko. She is comfy to wear and has so many different outfits. I love her props so much as well. I’m really proud of how it turned out.

What has been your most memorable experience (good or bad) as a cosplayer?

So far I would have to say the one year I went to a My Little Pony convention. I designed a gala dress just for the con and on a whim, I decided to enter the cosplay contest. I had never done one before and I wanted to try to get over stage fright a bit. And in the end, I won! My friend had to give me a push I didn’t think it was real. There were so many talented people there! But it was fun and unexpected.

How do you feel about group cosplays?

Love em. As much as I am an introvert, they are wonderful to build friendships and admire everyone’s cosplay skills! Working toward a goal as one is fun! Do a cosplay group event at least once in your life I would say.

What cosplays are you currently working on or plan to finish this year?

Currently, I finished a casual Sombra and I want to start work on Sunset Shimmer for MLP cons.

What issues do you see being the most divisive in the cosplay community and how do you feel about it?

That’s a toughy. There a lot of issues facing the community. Personally, I see a lot of body shaming for female and sometimes male cosplayers. Things like shaming girls for wanting to cosplay sexy no matter what they look like. Shaming males for wanting to crossplay. It’s not ok outside of cosplay and it’s not ok inside the community. We are all built and think differently so we should celebrate and accept that.

What types of characters or genres inspire your cosplay the most?

I like characters I can relate to or look like personally. Not any specific genre cuz I really love it all. For me, I like to do things I feel I look more like or relate to my personality.

Shopping. Haha! shopping for supplies is like a treasure hunt. And of course seeing it all come together at the end is so satisfying.

What are your best resources for cosplay materials?

Google? haha. Really just having internet access is great because we have so much information at our fingertips, doing research is a breeze. So I guess the internet.

What has been the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome as a cosplayer?

Body image. For me overcoming my own self-image has been very hard. I love certain characters and haven’t yet found the courage to wear them. My goal is to feel absolutely comfortable wearing Yoko.

Have you learned any life lessons during your time as a cosplayer and what are they?

How to own your “weirdness”. There hasn’t been much along the ways of support for cosplaying. But eventually, I learned that it’s not about them. It’s about me. And if it makes me happy, then yes I’m gonna go dress up and look fabulous and geek out!

What is your golden cosplay rule that you would share with new cosplayers?

My golden rule would be to never overlook your “other life”. And by that I mean, don’t overlook things like your work, personal hygiene, rent, food, e.c.t… You are all you’ll have in this life so take good care of yourself.

How do you feel the cosplay community has changed over time?

It has definitely become more public I guess you could say. And that’s good! We have more and more people outside the bubble of cosplay that we see many “normie” people coming to conventions to learn about the culture surrounding it. It’s awesome to see people wanting to learn.

If money and time were not a factor, what is your number one over ambitious cosplay you want to do?

A full armored Commander Shepard with a working sniper rifle prop that snaps in and out of place with a button and working led lights and an Omni tool that snaps in and out of place with a button.

Do you set a budget for each cosplay?

YES. It’s important to do so. Otherwise, I might get carried away, haha.

What does cosplay mean to you?

Cosplay to me means the freedom to be the girl I wanted to be when I was young. Confident in herself and willing to take risks when she knows it might flop. I think if my younger self could meet me, she might think I’m pretty cool, haha.

Is there anything that would make you stop cosplaying?

Money and time. But even then I could bounce right back and keep cosplaying. I’ll probably still be doing it when I get old too. Hands might not work as well by then but I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if I ever stop cosplaying.

Fluttershy and her Grand Galloping Gala dress.

Kuvira the great leader. Photo by Shutter Crazy Photos.

Emi Yusa (The Devil is a Part Timer!).

Marceline the Vampire Queen. Photo by WeNeals Photography and Retouching.

Mary Jane Watson. Photo by Rick Rmuze, Rmuze Photography.

Jet Set Radio Future group. Photo by WeNeals Photography and Retouching.

About the author

Word Of The Nerd

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